Bernie Sanders: 'I think I could make a good president, but I write fiction pretty poorly'

Sen. Bernie Sanders talks freedom, bad fiction on Late Night

(Image credit: Late Night)

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) thinks the USA Freedom Act is better than the Patriot Act, but he's still voting against it, he told Seth Meyers on Tuesday's Late Night. There are better, most constitutional ways to combat terrorism, the 2016 Democratic presidential contender said. "We can't go around telling people we're a free country when either the government or the corporate world knows every damn thing about you — that's not really freedom."

Then Meyers started pitching softballs. Sanders looked a little nervous when Meyers started bringing up an essay Sanders published in 1972 that touches on rape and fantasy, but relaxed when Meyers turned it into a question about Fifty Shades of Grey. "I think I could make a good president, but I write fiction pretty poorly," Sanders said. Also, that folk album he talked-sang on in the 1980s wasn't a great idea, he said, when Meyers broached the subject. "I almost feel like you should say, 'Vote for me or I'll put out another album'," Meyers quipped. There are probably worse campaign slogans. Listen to Sanders orate about liberty (and sing) below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.